Category Archives: French Polynesia

The Brando is a unique luxury resort on French Polynesia’s breathtakingly beautiful atoll of Tetiaroa. It sits on one of a dozen small islands (motus) that surround a spectacular three-mile wide lagoon. The motus are all privately owned and available exclusively to the resort’s guests and visiting researchers.

With access to the atoll by a 20-minute private plane flight from Tahiti, the all-inclusive resort features 35 secluded villas with private pools on beautiful white-sand beaches frequented by sea turtles and exotic birds.

This Polynesian style resort offers two restaurants showcasing Polynesian-inspired dishes, East/West fusion and classic French cuisine; a luxurious spa and wellness center with several massage and treatment villas around a serene lily-covered pond; an organic garden where fruits and vegetables for the resort’s restaurants are grown; a lagoon-view bar in the canopy of the palm trees; a beach bar near a large infinity pool; a tennis court; library and cultural center; boutiques; and an environmental research station with guest programs.

An abundance of activities await those who want to be more active. Each villa has a bicycle for each guest that can be used to explore the paths around the island or take a picnic to a favorite beach. Guests can snorkel or dive with tropical fish, sail in the lagoon, paddle board to a neighboring island, take a kayak above coral gardens, stroll the long stretches of beach, enjoy a guided or unguided marine, bird, cultural or other excursion, or simply spend a day in the spa and wellness center.

Inside your 1,033-sq.-ft. (96-sq.-m) villa you will feel right at home. We’ve carefully designed each villa to blend into and enhance the serenity of your surroundings, so you’ll feel as though indoor and outdoor have merged together. The cozy sitting room is furnished with soft and comfortable chairs and sofas, and opens on the terrace, your private pool and the beach located steps away. To the side is a media room, where you can listen to music, watch a movie, or use WiFi to keep in touch with friends and family.

A walkthrough dressing area adjoins your spacious bedroom, where a king-size bed (twin beds available on request) invites you to relax and gaze through a large window at the lagoon, visible through a screen of pandanus, miki miki, and coconut trees.

The adjoining bathroom features an outdoor Al-fresco bathtub, set behind a wooden screen. Wifi connectivity is available inside and around the Villa, and in all the resort public spaces.

Enjoy all the appointments of a one-bedroom villa—plus many built-in extras—in any of our four, 1,808-sq.-ft. (168-sq.-m), two-bedroom villas.

Inside, a large, airy living room features Bluetooth connectivity and a television. The living room also provides you with a private dining area with seating for six, a kitchen, and a wide entryway onto a large, two-tiered deck.

In these villas, the second bedroom is situated above the first. Both bedrooms feature a private dressing area and an outdoor bathtub. Upstairs, as you gaze out over the lagoon, you’ll experience a sensation of floating above this opulent tropical vista. Each bedroom possess an independant access.

Your sense of spaciousness and privacy extends to your 1,658-sq.-ft. (154-sq.-m) private yard, with its larger deck area and 140-sq.-ft. (13-sq.-m) plunge pool.

The 2,648-sq.-ft. (246-sq.-m) three-bedroom villa provides an opportunity for friends or a larger family to stay together. This villa has all the features of the two-bedroom villa but on an even larger scale.

The third bedroom is separated from the main villa by an above-ground walkway, and includes its own dressing room, bathroom, and outdoor bathtub.

We’ve also upgraded the furnishings of your private outdoor space, which includes an expanded deck and a 236 sq. ft. (22 sq. m) pool.

The resort’s two restaurants showcase Polynesian-inspired dishes, East/West fusion and classic French cuisine. The award-winning cuisine of Guy Martin of the Michelin two star restaurant Le Grand Véfour in Paris is featured in both dining venues and in-villa dining.

You will enjoy the freshest of ingredients as our Chef will select fruits and vegetables naturally grown in our gardens and orchards, and will serve you delicious and fragrant papayas, bananas, lemons, herbs, cucumbers, zucchinis, tomatoes and eggplants. Most featured fish come from Polynesian waters.

Beachcomber Café

Our Beachcomber Café restaurant offers exceptional lagoon and ocean views, whether you decide to dine indoors or on the beach. Dishes include a varied menu of Polynesian-inspired dishes alongside classic French cuisine.

Les Mutinés by Guy Martin

This intimate venue features elegant décor in beautiful tones of tropical light and sand and a moat that surrounds the restaurant provides the sensation of floating on a lagoon. The restaurant also includes a world-class wine cellar in a carefully climate-controlled glass enclosure. A menu with the same regard for flavor and quality that has made Le Grand Véfour one of the most respected dining establishments in Paris is showcased.

Te Manu Bar

Located on the second floor, this open-air bar features spectacular views of the lagoon, distant motus and sunsets. In addition to the main lounge, there are several private tree-top seating areas that can be reached on walkways through the palm canopy.

Bob’s Bar

This is a relaxed and casual setting on the beach for conversation and making friends. The bar is named for Marlon Brando’s factotum on film sets. At the end of many days, Brando and Bob would wind up at the bar for long talks and laughs. We have named the bar in honor of Bob and all others who have worked, and continue to work, anonymously to bring Brando’s visions to life.